New Beginning and Future

Chapter 53: Storm Chasers and Soft Landings

Summary: When a familiar crisis pulls her into the heart of another team's chaos, Yao responds the only way she knows how, with fire, clarity, and unshakable loyalty. But even in the aftermath, as the rain keeps falling and laughter returns to the walls of the base, it's the quiet moments, shared glances, teasing threats, and whispered promises in the dark, that remind her and Sicheng what all the battles are truly for.

Overprotective: ZGDX
Overprotective/Possessive/territorial: Chessman
Chessman is literally his own warning when it concerns his girl

Notes:

⚠️ Author's Note: FYI I am going on vacation next Friday for about a week and half and than finally going to graveyard. So I will not be updating for about maybe two weeks. Depending on my mood.

Disclaimer: The Muse would like to remind everyone we do not own FIYS nor the beloved characters nor any dialogue from either the show nor the book...the Muse is very sad and not pleased with this continued reminder that they do not own them and never will!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Fifty-Three

The storm didn't arrive in the form of thunder or lightning, it came in the form of Ai Jia, YQCB's Midlaner, bursting through the doors of the ZGDX base with all the urgency of a man on the brink of emotional collapse. His hoodie was half-zipped, hair wind-tousled, sneakers squeaking against the hardwood, and his expression hovered somewhere between desperation and utter panic.

"YAO!" he shouted, his voice echoing down the hall like a herald of doom. "Where is she?! Where is that traitorous Midlaner-turned-ADC-turned-wife-of-the-devil?!"

From the couch in the common room, Yao's head fell back with a long, exhausted groan. She didn't even open her eyes as she called out, "Living room, where you always find me when you barge in uninvited, you drama queen."

Ai Jia's footsteps thundered closer before he skidded to a halt in the doorway, pointing at her like she was the answer to all of his problems and the cause of them at the same time. "You need to fix her," he said, breathless. "She's going to self-destruct. She's planning an entire wedding ceremony alone. She's running YQCB's training schedule alone. She's juggling caterers and venue contracts and dress fittings and media appearances and she hasn't slept in two days—"

"Jinyang?" Yao asked tiredly, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, Jinyang! Who else do I willingly allow to destroy me?! She won't listen to me. I told her we could hire someone to help. I offered to move the wedding. I even offered to elope and she threw a clipboard at me, Yao!"

A muffled snort came from the hallway, Sicheng, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and an expression that was ninety percent amusement, ten percent judgment. "She hit you with a clipboard?" he asked, pushing off the wall.

"She missed!" Ai Jia shouted. "Which somehow made it worse!"

Yao sighed again, louder this time, and pushed off the couch like she was lifting a boulder off her back. "She's been like this since you proposed. And then she made it worse by trying to plan everything for the reception around the Championship match date."

"She's got five color palettes, Yao. Five. And she wants me to pick one but also says I can't choose the wrong one. What the hell does that mean?"

Yao was already moving toward the entryway, grabbing her jacket off the hook, slipping one arm in with practiced ease before reaching for her sneakers in the cubbies. "It means she needs someone to yank her out of her brain before she hits meltdown territory. Again."